Bernard Schoenburg: Fundraising letter by Schock has a campaign feel

Sunday

They say campaigns go on forever these days. In the case of the soon-to-be youngest member of the U.S. House, that adage certainly seems to apply.

They say campaigns go on forever these days. In the case of the soon-to-be youngest member of the U.S. House, that adage certainly seems to apply.

State Rep. AARON SCHOCK, R-Peoria, gets sworn in on Jan. 6 as a new congressman representing the 18th Congressional District.

But on Nov. 21, less than three weeks after his defeat of Democrat COLLEEN CALLAHAN to win the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. RAY LaHOOD, R-Peoria, and more than six weeks before he enters Congress, Schock put out a fund-raising letter using pretty strong rhetoric to pry loose some dollars.

The letter, more than two pages long, talks of the Democrats’ “thirst for power” in trying to win even bigger majorities in Congress, and how U.S. Sen. DICK DURBIN, D-Ill., and his party were “feeling their oats and flush with cash,” as they took steps to try to win in the 18th District seat in the final weeks of the campaign. Durbin aides worked or volunteered for Callahan in a final push.

“Just like they have here in Illinois, Democrat leaders wanted total power for absolute one-party rule,” Schock wrote.

In illustrating problems with Democrats being in charge, Schock points to victims of the dysfunction in state government and the “nearly $5 billion in unpaid bills,” which is actually a figure the state comptroller says could be reached next spring.

“It is shameful,” Schock says in the letter. “It is also a problem created solely by the past six years of reckless budgeting and squabbling.”

“Dick Durbin, national Democrat leaders and left-wing activist organizations aren’t satisfied with big majorities in the federal government, they want no Republicans elected in Illinois at all …,” Schock states. “They wanted to snuff out promising Republicans any way they could. …”

Schock went beyond attacking just the Democrats, as the letter says he also had to decide how to handle “a carefully calculated and perfectly timed attack coordinated by a biased journalist and insidious, non-stop attacks by my opponent. …”

Schock, in an interview last week, wouldn’t go public with the name of the journalist he’s talking about, though accusing somebody in my business of not only being biased but coordinating an attack with a campaign is, to put it lightly, a very serious charge.

Schock did say that he was referring to stories involving Schock’s being a notary. Callahan ran late ads in the campaign after it was reported that Schock’s father had testified in a trial that the younger Schock years earlier had notarized documents with false dates while helping his parents set up tax shelters. Neither Schock was accused of wrongdoing, and the elder Schock testified as the victim of an alleged scam.

Rep. Schock hasn’t proved very used to press criticism. When Schock’s father’s name first surfaced as a possible witness in the tax fraud case last spring, the younger Schock’s reaction was that my asking him about it was a “cheap shot.”

But I didn’t do any initial reporting on the wrong-date notarization problem, so I don’t think the reference in his fund-raising letter is about me.

The letter also takes a hard line on Callahan — showing either that strong rhetoric is best to raise money, Schock fears she’ll run again in 2010, or that he just can’t get out of campaign mode.

He said her late ad campaign was highly negative.

“I cannot believe how empty a candidate should feel with dirty tactics such as this,” he wrote. “I cannot imagine going through a campaign without saying one positive thing about why he or she feels they are the better candidate.”

Now, I heard Callahan say lots of good things about herself in news conferences and forums, and she said last week she often talked about “my roots and my wings,” her background and experience.

Schock said that Callahan spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in negative campaign ads, so what she told “35 people at a coffee shop” or forum “pales in comparison.”

Anyway, Schock’s letter said he made the decision to stay positive in his message, and while he is proud of that stand, it was costly.
“I had to go against every fiber of my being in going out on a limb financially by $80,000 to keep from being overwhelmed by these coordinated attacks on top of the Obama tsunami,” the letter states.

“I need to ask one more time for your financial assistance now to help me quickly retire this debt and focus on serving you in Congress. Unbelievably, only nine months from now in August 2009, I will need to begin circulating petitions for re-election and I cannot get behind in fund-raising or national Democrats will once again come into the 18th District in full force.”

Schock told me his total primary and general campaign tab was about $2.5 million. He also said that a separate “leadership PAC” he set up to help other Republican House candidates across the country doled out more than $80,000. But he said that PAC money was raised from donors who had already given the maximum possible under federal law to his campaign, so the leadership fund couldn’t have gone to his own effort anyway. So when I asked why he’s seeking to raise $80,000 now for his campaign when he gave that much away to other candidates, he said it was “really not a fair comparison.”

Schock had a good laugh when I told him the letter I got a copy of had been sent to RICHARD BURNS — Colleen Callahan’s husband. I got that copy from TERRY TOWERY, who was Callahan’s campaign manager. Schock said it must have gone to Burns because Shock used fundraising lists not only from his own campaign, but also from LaHood’s, in sending out the recent letter. Callahan and her husband had in the past hosted a fundraiser for LaHood.

Schock was in Washington looking for housing when we spoke last week, and he said the weeks since the election have been “an exciting time.”

He’d been through about a weeklong “member orientation” that included long days of speakers on things like hiring staff, finding office space, ethics and the legislative process.

“It’s been like drinking from a fire hose,” he said of the mass of information to digest.

He said he got office space assigned on the “penthouse,” or fifth floor, of the Cannon House Office Building. All three rooms have windows with balconies, he said. They look out on the Capitol dome.
“For a new member, I couldn’t be more pleased,” he said.

He said he plans to have Illinois offices in the same cities LaHood does, but has yet to determine who will be on staff and if the locations of those offices will stay the same. He did say that his campaign manager, STEVEN SHEARER, will be part of that staff.

Butler joins St. John’s
TIM BUTLER of Springfield, LaHood’s district chief of staff who has worked for LaHood for 14 years, will start a new job Jan. 5 as director of marketing and business development for St. John’s Hospital.

Butler, who makes $120,000 annually in his government job, said the hospital position is newly created by St. John’s CEO BOB RITZ as part of an emphasis in beefing up marketing efforts.

“I believe this is a wonderful opportunity for me on both a professional and personal level,” Butler said via e-mail. “St. John’s is on the cusp of a truly amazing renaissance as many initiatives are set to begin which will position the hospital for a strong and prosperous future.” He said he’s been “thoroughly impressed” with the staff there.

Butler also said he’s been lucky to work for LaHood since 1994, and called him “the best public servant in the country, bar none.”

“Through Ray’s leadership, example, counsel and trust, I have been allowed to develop from a 27-year-old junior staffer who really didn’t know a lot into a seasoned professional,” Butler said. “Ray’s mentorship has allowed me to understand what it is to be a true professional, a dedicated public servant, and a community leader. I really didn’t know much about that stuff in 1994. … He is someone to whom I will be eternally grateful.”

Reception set for Lamm
A reception honoring retiring Sangamon County Recorder MARY ANN LAMM for her 32 years of service will be from 5-7:30 p.m. Thursday at Christ the King Parish center, 1930 Barberry Drive.

The reception is being hosted by her three children and six grandchildren, and is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Lamm endorsed fellow Democrat JOSH LANGFELDER, a former chief deputy recorder, to be her successor, and he won election Nov. 4. He gets sworn in at 10 a.m. Monday in the Sangamon County Board chambers.

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